. tonight on "world news." one on one. governor mitt romney under pressure and facing our david muir tonight. and his new problem in the crucial state of ohio. what a lot of women now say they're going to the other side. holiday hiring. americans line up for hundreds of thousands of jobs. we'll tell you who is hiring, how much and what it takes to keep those jobs after the new year. food fight. kids in open rebellion against those new healthy lunches at school asking for food they like to eat. what would do you about this? kids dumping their vegetables. and adults only. our exclusive interview with the woman who put kids under her spell. now she thinks she has the

secret of what adults crave. what is it? and can she make magic again? good evening. we saw the two men who want to be president pour it on today, in the same state, same time. it's the must-win battleground state of ohio and 41 days before your voice, your vote. president obama campaigning there as well as the challenger under so much pressure. today abc's david muir went one-on-one with mitt romney not long ago and he's here now. david. >> reporter: diane, good evening from ohio where i did talk with the governor moments ago. i asked about the brand-new poll numbers out today and they were not good. a reality check for the romney campaign. i asked if the secret video and wealthy donors is playing a rolle in bringing those numbers

down. >> we'll win ohio again. >> we'll finish what we started. >> we'll win in ohio. take back america. >> reporter: call it the buckeye brawl. perhaps the biggest punch from the newest poll. romney trailing president obama by 10 points in ohio. down by 9 points in florida. just before we came on the air we asked the governor about those numbers. >> curious about what your donors might think what the fact this it could be sleeping away? >> i'm pleased with some polls. polls go up and some go down. >> there's some that believe this is a reflection of that videotape last week. talking about the donor, talking about the 47%. >> my job is not to worry about those people. i'll never convince them they should take personal responsible. i'm curious who exactly you're talking about there? >> i think if you look at the national polls you see i'm tied in the national polls.

>> you said those people should take greater personal responsibility. >> it's a political process. i don't expect to get 100% of the vote. i hope to get 50-plus percent and make sure i become the next president. >> reporter: in the wake of that video romney out with a new ad. >> president obama and i care about poor and middle class families. the difference is my policies will make things better for them. >> reporter: tonight the president continued to take aim. >> i don't believe we can get very far with leader whose write off half the nation with a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. i don't see a lot of victims. i see hard-working ohioans. that's what i see. >> reporter: also revealed in the new poll a huge deficit for romney among women. the president with a 25% lead in ohio and 20% lead in florida. we asked about his most powerful surrogate his wife. >> we heard from your wife, ann

who responded to criticism within your own party. >> stop it. you want to try it get in the ring. >> i know you heard it all before. you heard your wife that fired up about the incoming fire. i think it's what you say to your wife. >> ann is a very strong character. she doesn't like when people go after me. i'm just fine. i got broad shoulders. >> reporter: about that criticism from within their own party, i did ask the governor if there's any changes in store at his campaign. he said we're always tweaking message but no changes as far as staffing is concerned. as we were taking off the microphones he joked if there's a change at the top it's going to be my wife i put in charge. >> thank you so much. david muir reporting from ohio tonight. now we turn to a big boost in holiday hiring which could mean extra money for american families. there's a new report predicting a spike in the way consumers spend over the holidays on average spending $40 more this

holiday season which means companies said they are ready to hire hundreds of thousand of people to help them. we asked abc's cecilia vega how much they pay and what you have to do to keep the job next year. >> reporter: just about everyone at this job fair was clinging for two things. resume and hope. >> how long have you been out of work? >> eight months now. >> wow. >> anything you can get your hans on you have to take it. >> reporter: but for the unemployed. the gifts may be coming early this year. as many as 700,000 seasonal jobs around the country will be up for grabs in preparation for what may beet best holiday hiring season in five years. some of the biggest names in retail are already accepting applications. kohl's expect to hire 52,000 workers, a whopping $10,000 more.

at walmart. 50,000 jobs. 45,000 at toys are you. up 5,000 from last year and 90,000 jobs at target. >> what we're seeing are retailers placing big bets. >> and $7 an hour is $5,000 for the holiday pay. it may not be much to live on but it's a dream come true. >> for this man it's a dream come true. for some those jobs stayed permanent. toys "r" us kept 16%. target 30%. >> i actually applied at target. i hope a get a callback. >> reporter: fingers crossed. >> yes. >> reporter: finger crossed. if you want one of these jobs you have to apply now. many will be swooped up by the end of october well in advance of black friday.

if people work hard and make a goodmpression, these jobs there's for the taking. they could become permanent jobs not just temporary jobs. >> those are big numbers. thank you so much. now we head overseas to europe because the protests back in greece a reactiono a new round of austerity cuts. police fired tear gas, protesters with petroleum bombs set sidewalks ablaze. and in spain there were towns of thousand of protesters taking to the streets and shutting down traffic in madrid. from fiery protests overseas to the united nations here, a strangely subdued iranian president ahmadinejad. 35 minutes at the podium at the u.n. as usual the u.s. and israel refuse to sit and listen. you can see the empty seats. this time ahmadinejad made no mention of iran's nuclear

program and on this, the holiest day of the year in jewish faith. yom kapur. >> and last night we told you of the wild call on the football field and the replacement referees blamed. tonight there's word the nfl lockout could be ending. how soon? abc's dan hairs has the latest. >> reporter: in the aftermath of the bad call heard around the world, the league and the referees union reportedly held an 18-hour negotiating session -- and tonight, according to our sister network, espn, a deal is quote, "at hand." that late-game debacle -- that hail mary, the scramble in the end zone, and the two replacement refs making totally different calls -- >> this is comical to me. >> reporter: the touchdown that really looked like an interception, but let seattle beat green bay. it infuriated everyone from the announcers, to the fans, to the

players, and tonight it appears to be what finally brought the powerful nfl owners and referee's union to this possible deal. the refs have been locked out since june in a dispute over compensation and the power to bench bad referees. but the replacement refs brauth in by the league proved infinitely worse and made the fans miss the regular refs usually taken for granted. >> last three weeks we're focusing on the officials. that's the wrong thing to look at. it's obvious, people watch football games and say how many bad calls are these officials going to make? that's the problem right now. >> reporter: according to our friends at espn, if a deal gets done today, there are refs ready to go for tomorrow night's browns/ravens game. if the deal gets done in the next 24 hours the rest of the refs could be on the field sunday. either way the refs taken for

granted no longer. thank you so much. dan. now we turn to an uprising in the school cafeteria. schools say healthy lunches man dated under federal guidelines leaving them hungry. the new menu is supposed to help fight obesity but the kids are fighting back with a song and raising questions what's enough. we want to know what's hapning with the lunches they're getting. jim avila has more. >> it's a lunch room revolt. ♪ i need to get some food today ♪ >> students and teachers at this kansas high school creating eye viral video pro tefth of the new callie-cutting menus in their cafeteria. they say they're just not getting enough to eat. ♪ we are hungry >> reporter: their complaint new usda school lunch guidelines, limbing cal trois fight obesity epidemic among the america's youth.

the new nutritionist recommended rules resplikt elementary scholars to 650 calorie, 070 for middle school and 850 for high school. today you may find pizza, chicken nuggets and french fries you now half of each place must be filled with vegetables and fruit plus milk and fruit smoothie. in some schools the amount of food thrown out is shocking. >> reporter: this month we visited a school in suburban chicago where high scholars analyzed their lunch. shocked to find 46 boxes of pears. the week before all 111 vegetables served were thrown away. >> schools tell us they've seen the 50% of increase in lunch in dash. >> too healthy almost. >> reporter: the usda says the new menus are working in some schools and rules are long overdue. >> this is about our children and health of our children and making sure we do a good job

providing low fat dairy and whole greens. why? because they're at risk of being obese. >> reporter: despite the calorie limbs students can get seconds of fruit and vegetables. the challenge for america's lunch lady is get the kids to eat it. jim avila, abc news, bristol, virginia. there was a kind of miracle at jfk airport today. the plane from rio degenerde ja when the landing gear failed. but it amazingly locked in the right position. a member of the disaster response team said it was if the hand of god turned that wheel. still ahead on "world news," our exclusive with the create irv of "harry potter" she cracked the code for what kids want. has she done it again? this time for adults.

[ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation, not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪

that's my world. and every day since, two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely.

i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year. bp invests more in america than in any other country. in fact, over the last five years, no other energy company has invested more in the us than bp. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. today, our commitment to the gulf, and to america, has never been stronger. we all know jk rolling is the single mother once on welfare who knew every child wants to be a wizard. a harry potter. after selling 450 million copy, rowling is trying to reach into

the mind of adults. cynthia mcfadden has a first look. >> reporter: book, movies, merchandise a theme park. "harry potter" universe, j.k. rowling's creation, has spellbound millions. but now rowling is leaving the wizarding world behind for a decidedly adult novel called "the casual vacancy." but she hasn't abandoned her guiding values. you said about "harry potter," that at the end, love won out. what wins out here in "vacancy"? >> the absence of love certainly causes some very profound problems in the book. the two things that obsess me are morality and mortality. and clearly that was "harry potter." and in a very, very different, it's also "the casual vancy." >> reporter: you've gone -- it seems to me -- from the ultimate fantasy to the ultimate reality. >> i have gone from dragons and unicorns and all the fun that's involved in writing that to a

book that's intensely personal, that expresses a lot of my reality. >> reporter: rowling insists the book isn't a memoir but she did draw on the darker times of her life to craft her characters. >> we have an adult character in the book who has obsessive-compulsive disorder. and these are -- these are things i know from the inside, yeah. >> reporter: the ocd part of it as well? >> when i was in my teens, i had issues with ocd. >> reporter: how did it manifest? >> compulsions. >> like? >> checking things. you know, it's very common. checking, double checking, triple checking. >> reporter: some might wonder why rowling, an almost billionaire, would bother writing another book -- putting her reputation on the line. so how will you decide whether this book is a success? >> it won't sell as many books as "harry potter" because i think lightning doesn't strike twice. but i accepted that a long time ago. >> reporter: her unlikely cautionary tale -- michael jackson.

>> he wanted to do "thriller" again and again and again. and instead of accepting that he'd produced one of the best albums of all time -- it's tragic, actually. it's very, very sad that someone with that amount of talent would be chasing that. >> reporter: so instead of chasing harry, rowling said s says she felt she had to write. may success be enough for rowling this time. cynthia mcfadden, abc news, edinburgh. you can see more of cynthia's interview tonight on "nightline." and tomorrow on "gma." rowling will read from her new book. coming up, an amazing journey. one little girl's message in a bottle. what they found 10,000 mile as way. my doctor told me calcium

is efficiently absorbed in small continuous amounts. citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults.

cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. so it can feel like you're using nothing at all. but neosporin® eczema essentials™ is different. its multi-action formula restores visibly healthier skin in 3 days. neosporin® eczema essentials™.

but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! we want to tell you about a hidden epidemic under way tonight. so many of us, ruining our knees. a study in the journal of the american medical association today finds knee replacements are sky rocketing. up 161% in the past decade. that's among people 65 and older. but even people 45 and older are in a lot more trouble with their niece. so, why? well, experts say, first obesity. every extra pound puts 4 additional pounds op the pressure of your niece. the other problem, middle age

people keep running through pain. running puts twice as much stress on the knee as walking. their advice, if that knee hurt, stop. it started with a gift from grandma and grandpa a 4-year-old jasmine. a message in the bottle. she filled it out. ahoy, jasmine hudson set this adraft april 10th 2012. she dropped in on a peer in new england and forgot about it. that was five months ago. now her bottle was found 10,000 mile as way in australia. picked up by jasmine richards who sent jasmine a letter saying i hope it bring us joy to know your message landed safely in my hands. and coming up that memorable song from many moons ago. tonight looking back on the life of andy williams. ♪ moon river whiter than a

th a. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription.

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all day long people were trying to remember the first time they heard that voice. so many using the words like silk, chocolate, the promise of christmas. andy williams possibly had more songs from more movies than any other singer his age. we learned today he has died at 84. david wright brings us a kind of farewell. ♪ moon river >> reporter: his signature song was from "breakfast at tiffany's." ♪ two drifters in the movie, audrey hepburn sang "moon river." but at the academyawards that year, andy williams made it his own. >> reporter: his big break the steve allen show. which led to his own variety hour. >> what's your name? >> donny. >> reporter: and all those christmas specials.

♪s it ate most wonderful time of the year ♪ >> reporter: he was a life long republican. >> andy williams we'll have to declare your voice a national treasure. >> reporter: but also a good friend of bobby kennedy. ♪ my ice have seen the glory of the coming of the lord ♪ >> reporter: that's andy williams singing at rfk's funeral. ♪ where do i begin to tell the story ♪ ♪ of how great love can be >> reporter: continued to perform well into his 80s at his moon river theater in branson. ♪ moon river white as >> reporter: andy williams was

84. david wright, abc news, hollywood. and we thank all of you for joining us for his music tonight. and the rest of our program. we're always here at abcnews.com. "nightline" later. we'll see you back here once again tomorrow night. good night. [ taste buds ] donuts, donuts, donuts!

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